...a look inside my mind

Brand New and finally through...

2006-11-03T14:54:00.000-05:00

Life as it turns out rarely turns out the way we hope. (as I'm writing that, I feel that I have blogged this before). My life as it were never took the linear lines I thought it would. Check out these current stats on my life:

I attended 3 colleges in 5 years (was never kicked out - I left voluntarily, seriously).

I have had 4 jobs in the 4 years since I graduated from college, despite having been at my current one for the past 2 years or so

I rarely discuss major purchases in my life with anyone - you can ask my wife

I never thought I would get married, despite wanting to have kids and a family... mostly because
I feared failure i.e. not being a good father, husband, neglecting my wife, losing romance etc...

I had a life changing accident while in college, I couldn't walk for more than a month and in that time learned to play guitar, which I later used to begin leading worship at churches... God completely used that to change my life and the lives of those around me - or so I'm told

I have had this blog for over a year and yet rarely write in it and it is rarely read and even less rarely commented on.

All that said, I wouldn't change a thing, not the colleges, or the accident, the failing blog or waiting to marry. Instead I look to the way life seems to pour itself out in front of me and choose to see the good and the God in it. Even when life turns me on my head like yesterday at work... I have hope and usually, a fairly good attitude.

Now for the great "TaDa." This blog is over done... It's time for a new thing - sure there will be others, but for now, this one will be as it is - complete.

Chasing Cars

2006-10-06T09:44:00.000-04:00

Artist: Snow Patrol

Album: Open Eyes
Song: Chasing Cars (lyrics)

We'll do it all, everything, on our own
We don't need anything or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world

I donÂt quite know how to say how I feel
Those three words are said too much
TheyÂre not enough If I lay here

If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads
I need your grace to remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes
They're all I can see
I don't know where
Confused about how as well I just know that these things
Will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world

Check this out - Christian Apology

2006-08-10T23:53:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine from college - PC Walker - who is this amazing writer and introspective type of person finally got published, although I think this is the first time he tried. I'm sure if he'd been trying, he'd have been published a long time ago! haha.

Check out his article in the Sacramento News and Review he wrote, it is an apology for Christians and the judgmental ways we all act from time to time. It is a cry of God's love for the world that we often fail to fully express.

Enough said, check out the link SN&R.

Wha??

2006-07-20T08:20:00.000-04:00

There's really nothing to say. I am a sporadic blogger, and I probably always will be. Good thing I write for my own pleasure and not to satisfy all of my curious readers who rarely comment. 23 days until I am totally hitched and married and forsaking all others as a covenant before God to one woman on this planet. YIKES! No I'm ready to do it and glad to be making those promises to my best friend.

Last night Jen and I were talking about life and how unprepared we are feeling for the actual marriage to begin. It's going to be quite a transition to living in constant community with someone, sharing all aspects of life with another. It's rare in life that you find someone that you would love to do this with, and yet I have been blessed to do so.

I think Jen and I need to start praying daily as we head into this marriage, to saturate our hearts with truth and open our lives up more to the grace of Jesus and to each other. That will be the challenge - to truly share everything in our relationship, both the highs and the lows and carry the burdens together... that's my prayer.

Coming soon - a day in the life w/ Will. An hour by hour blog... should be fun

Weekends

2006-05-22T11:49:00.000-04:00

Lately, my weekends have been feeling - well not so weekendish... It's kind of a sad state I'm finding myself in. I work all week, only to work more on the weekend. In the midst of it all I'm trying to balance a personal life, leading worship, engaging with my friends when I see them and not totally blowing everyone off just to work more. What's funny is that when I was younger and apparently pretty naive, I thought people who worked late or long hours were cool, or driven and usually successful. Now I know the real truth - the were simply tired. Probably tired of the hours, tired of feeling the pressure in their minds and in their shoulders... and probably even just a bit tired of life itself. Unfortunately, I now know this feeling all too well.

I know that I am the kind of person who doesn't want to let people down, but life is just too short to spend it working constantly - or to be constantly thinking about work... This weekend when I head over to my family's cottage on Diamond Island in Cassopolis, MI to lay a tile floor in the kitchen with my dad, I will be resting... Despite the intense physical labor I may endure, I will be resting in comparison to the non-stop life I lead now...

That's all I know 4.5 days and counting until I can relax - I hope...

In You

2006-05-16T09:51:00.000-04:00

Here's the beginning of a new one...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

All creation

Sings your name

I listen with my heart

I hear this glorious sound

Of faith lived for your renown

.........

In You….

In you I find my freedom

In You…

In you all fear is gone

God In You

In you I take my refuge

In You

In you I find my joy

God sustain me

Rearrange me

Rescue me from sin

I give my life to you

To help make your dreams come true

Lord my thoughts

Lead me away

From all I have in You

I lay down my heart again

Come change it from within

Michigan!

2006-05-11T11:20:00.000-04:00

If you haven't heard this guy yet, and if you live in Michigan - well you should just be ashamed of yourself. He wrote his first album devoted specifically to this state - I mean it's called Michiagn but seen as "Greetings from Michigan - The Great Lakes State on the album." He is a bit eclectic musically, but the more you listen the more you love.
Here's the track listings on this superb album:

"Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)" - 3:44
"All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!" - 4:33
"For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" - 3:57
"Say Yes! to M!ch!gan!" - 2:46
- (The track title refers to a Michigan tourism slogan from the 1980s)
"The Upper Peninsula" - 3:23
"Tahquamenon Falls" - 2:18
"Holland" - 3:26
"Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)" - 8:20
"Romulus" - 4:41
"Alanson, Crooked River" - 1:18
"Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie" - 2:52
"They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For the Homeless in Muskegon)" - 6:21
"Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickerel Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)" - 9:23
"Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)" - 2:02
"Vito's Ordination Song" - 7:07

For those of you of the Illinois persuasion - his second album (of 50) in the states concept albums had the words "Come on Feel the Illinoise" on the cover for his album dedicated to the land of Lincoln. A highly enjoyable experience as well - I would describe his music as hilarious / brilliant.

The Countdown

2006-05-07T10:30:00.000-04:00

I'll Live For You

2006-04-25T12:40:00.000-04:00

Here's a new song in process - written pretty close to what I think it will be as far as lyrics go, but perhaps more work to be done structurally and musically how it will feel and flow. Pretty uptempo in my mind right now and hopefully full of the energy behind the message.

-------------------------------------------------

I'll Live For You

V1
I won't wait, to give You my all
I won't wait, to make a sacrifice
I'll start each day, giving You my all
I'll start today, giving You my all

Prechorus:
But You didn't wait to make the sacrifice
Or hesitate to step in to my life

Chorus:
I'll live for You, because You died for me
I'll live for You, cause in You my life is free
Awaken my heart, I look to You as King
My sacrifice is just this life I bring

V2:
No turning back, You've captured all my heart
My life in You, will [we'll] never be apart
Take all of me, it's everything I have
My only one, You've loved me from the start...

Pre:
Chorus: 2x

Tag:
I live my life for You
I live my life for You
I will give my life for You
I live my life for You...

Chorus:

It's a start, and it's honest and I'm pretty sure that's all God wants from me is my heart, authentically, wherever that may be.

She Said Yes

2006-04-03T16:47:00.000-04:00

I took my girlfriend Jen to Amsterdam for the weekend to propose - she said Yes. These are the picks our friends took of the event (Jen was unaware what was going on)! She said YES!

Writing... I am not good at it...

2006-03-15T14:57:00.000-05:00

Woke up - singing your words today

Can't seem - to simply find my way

back to you,

Watching, waiting for day to come

Holding, onto this feeling

Cause I've been so numb

Pre-Chorus:

And my heart warms, with the Sun

my mind swarmed with these thoughts of you

and your words to me last night...

Chorus:

You said,

Don't worry I'll still be here in the morning

You said,

Don't hurry, I won't leave without a warning,

Anymore we've gone too far -

To turn my back again

Well it's a start anyway... to a chorus I wrote a while back

Life

2006-03-01T09:09:00.000-05:00

God is most glorified in You (me) when You are (I am) most satisfied in Him

20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
-Phillipians 1:20

So Close...

2006-02-20T19:17:00.000-05:00

This weekend I was suppose to be home...
This weekend I was planning on laying on my couch and watching movies...
This weekend I was hoping to work on some music I've been writing...
This weekend I was wanting to sleep in my own bed...

But, thanks to the people at AirTran and a weather delay, I worked from my hotel room in New Orleans. Not exactly the relaxing weekend I was hoping to have. Oh well, I will for sure be home this weekend, back in my own bed, which quite frankly I don't think is quite as comfortable as the one in my hotel room.

That's life I suppose, or at least the one I get to have while working here.

See you all soon - I hope.

I stole this, but it's still good...

2006-02-15T11:49:00.000-05:00

Father-God, hear my heart in this piece!

"My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following Your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe the desire to please You does in fact please You.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that, if I do this,
You will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.

Therefore I will trust You always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton

2006-02-13T17:17:00.000-05:00

Stuck in New Orleans w/out her...

Not fun...

Can't wait to be home...

... ... ...

Big Easy day 5

2006-02-12T20:04:00.000-05:00

Finally made it to the French Quarter today (which as it turns out is only a few short blocks from my hotel). I ironically was meeting my sister and her missions team from their church in Michigan. They had a day off and decided to experience New Orleans which was an hour drive from Mississippi where they are working distributing food and clothing to some displaced and under-resourced folks there. It was great to see someone who actually knows me. I have been fairly out on my own for a while since arriving here. Even though my co-workers are great, it's not the same as spending even a few chilly hours in the quarter with people who simply know you without asking questions.

That's life from the South right now - a relaxing weekend of work, college hoops and the Quarter...

Time for some room service!

W

Newark to New Orleans

2006-02-09T00:04:00.000-05:00

My trip to Newark = flawless.
Found a place to store my luggage while I trounced around Manhattan.

Trip to New Orleans - first class as far as the flight is concerned...
there was however one small hang up...
This bag shown below did not manage to make the trip all the way w/a layover in Atlanta... due to some miscommunication between the alleged good people at Continental and Delta. (I'm convinced by the way that Delta actually is no longer actually sanctioned to fly in the U.S., but no one with authority even realizes they actually are still flying planes...)

This bag was to arrive "between the hours of 11 am and 11pm as of 2pm on Wednedsay the 8th... luckily the courrier service managed to make from the airport to my hotel by 4 pm. Thankfully the luggage contents were all there and I was finally able to shower AND put on clean clothes.

Day two in New Orleans will prove to be even better - I am sure of it. I'm going to finally be doing something I'm somewhat good at for my job - buiding a database... why didn't I think about doing that before...

More later - stay tuned for my New Orleans update.

Best of New Orleans thus far

Bull Dog - Wednesday night is beer night - you get to take the glass pint glasses home w/ you after you drink. Good times.

New Year

2006-01-02T03:07:00.000-05:00

New Years - sometimes seems like we wait for a new year to make a new change in our life. And why? What is significant about the first day in a calendar year to change your life? Why would you wait to make a change in something you only get one chance in? I hear all this talk about new years resolutions and I think - these people are wasting and being defeated the other 364 days of the year by waiting for one day to change their life.

Some people are planners, and I don't think I'll ever fail to plan - I'm way to anal for that, but I think there is a lesson to be learned every day and I'm not bright enough to know ahead of time what it's going to be. I have to take life as it comes and be ready to respond to what God does in my life. I want to learn to be more sensitive to God's Spirit in my life and more responsive to His direction. If that's a new years resolution then I'll take it, but that's been my "life-resolution" for the past 5 years of my life. So there's nothing anymore new about it on 1/1/06 than it was when I woke up 12/31/05.

I want to live by the promises of God, not by my own intuitive ways and predictions of what a year will bring. Ok, I'm just being cynical now... Guess it's past my bed time. Cheers all!

Genius = Wheel + Shovel

2005-12-30T10:49:00.000-05:00

The Wovel is pretty much hands down the most amazing new product I've seen in a while. Aside from the computer, this may revolutionize the way men and women now (no more excuses ladies) clear snow. Check out their website commercials and demos when you have some spare time and bandwidth.

I have to be the first person on N. Connecticut to get one of these - but this new innovation will cost you. Still, despite being more than a shovel and less than a snowblower in cost, it's still a heft price to pay for simply marrying a shovel w/ a wheel...

Lyrics

2005-12-05T09:17:00.000-05:00

Here's a new chorus to a new song I'm in the midst of possibly writing / finishing. It's kind of about this fictional character - who embodies a lot of my tendencies for co-dependency, and deriving self-worth from relationships and how that catches up in life - not the type of life I live, but the way I see it through the eyes of those around me sometimes.

I only have the chorus, which isn't much, but the melody behind it is powerful and passionate, everything I wanted to feel when I was singing it. I'll have to get it recorded and post it here someday soon.

Chorus:

You said, don't worry, I'lll still be here in the morning
She said, don't worry, I won't leave without a warning -
Anymore -
We've gone too far - to turn my back again.

and then it dives into this minor chord progression which the verse is beginning to talk about a lack of trusting my own heart, or the idealistic ways of love that always seem to let a person down. something really broken like that.

That's all, just thought I'd share a bit.

W

Return

2005-12-03T10:04:00.000-05:00

Tim and I actually have no idea what we are about to drink here at breakfast - turns out the green one was some strange soda type of thing, not really lemony or limey and the orange was a mango tasting juice.

Our hotel bathroom - and all on the trip had some sanitation isssues in my opinion

Our plush 3 person master suite, yes, this is the whole room

A shot of us out in Independence Square (the center of Kiev for all intensive purposes) singing worship before a crowd of onlooker - most of whom don't really understand english, but love the "sound" of american music...

Janice explaining a piece of art she and Kari made during a concert given at an english speaking high school in kiev. This was an amazing form of art which spoke to the kids of choosing a better way of life. Due to the seperation of church and state similar to America, we could not talk (or sing) about God or Jesus, but rather we we could only point people to conversations with Nikolay the pastor we were with if they had questions or wanted further discussion. We ended up seeing one of the students from this school at a service we played at a few days after this was painted and she relayed a story where the principal hung up this piece of art and commented to the students around him that this signified a new beginning for the school. This same principal invited all 14 of us as well as Nikolay into his office after the event to thank us and tell us we are welcome back anytime and he believes it is the beginning of a strong relationship with Nikolay - Mission Accomplished!
The photo above is on the street in independence square singing worship songs. Some of these people actually ended up coming to the services where we played and taught. What really struck me is how God always got us into spiritual conversations with these people, and often times it was the most unlikely ones that would open up...

I realized that I have all of these wonderful pics of Kiev I have not posted so here are a few to tide you over until I see you in person.

Here is a small group of college-aged students creating art that basically has a person painted on it pointing. The students then wrote in words that express what they want to see in them in the body of the person. Surrounding the person were the words representing the things that the world tells them to want and desire.

Where has the time gone?

2005-11-29T23:33:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if you've ever had that moment where you get a chance to talk with someone and they hear you and have something valuable to say. It's not often you get a chance to sit down or talk with those people, but sometimes God sneaks them into your life at just the right time and you know your hearing from God. I love those moments - I love that God - A God that cares about me enough to send people to tell me His message. It's amazing the lengths He will sometimes go to when I ask for help.

We will seek you first Lord
You will hear our voices
Early in the morning and late in the night

We will sing your praises
Giving you the glory
Offering our lives to you a holy sacrifice

May our praise arise as incense
O Lord to you
May our worship be a fragrance
O Lord to you

We will seek you first...

Thanks

2005-11-23T07:44:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is always a rough holiday for me. Not that I don't have a ton to be thankful for, but my family and the families that surround me tend to be pretty internalized in their reactions to this holiday and I find myself a bit preoccupied thinking about what is happening with people who have less than I do.

Today I received an email from a friend I made while in Ukraine. Kostya is probably no older than myself and married. He told me that his wife was pregnant, but they were running into complications - he asked that I pray. So my response is to send this out to everyone I know to say hey, there is a need, let's ask God to do some amazing things here so they have a story to tell about their child and how God has had his hand upon him/her since before they were born.

So I'm thankful that God is using me, in the world around me, no matter how big or small that may be.

Heart Awakening

2005-11-21T07:23:00.000-05:00

Ever have the feeling that someone is looking into your heart? I rarely get that feeling, but I know it's possible. It's happened to me - I have been on both sides, seeing in and being looked upon and it is an indescribable feeling. There are moments in life that I think pass me by because I'm not paying attention, I gloss over the details, but things seem to be different since I've returned from Kiev. A heightened sense of awareness for me, a feeling of being alive with the people who are along side of me. It's a great feeling of an awakened soul.

Last night I had just such an experience while leading worship. I think some people just connect when the music they are singing is reaching the very heights of heaven, and I am one of those people. While I suffer from the perfectionist ways of my mind, my heart is all about reflecting back the love that I feel when I sing to God. It is an amazing give and take that He lets me be a part of. And when our praises hit His sky, I'm reminded that He is listening, closely, intently and enjoying His creation. That is what life is all about in so many ways.

It Just Arrived

2005-11-16T12:47:00.000-05:00

So I'm a bit behind the times, but I had to fight to get this. And yes, my excitement is a testimony of my materialism and my desire to always have a new cell phone. The good news is that I escaped Europe without buying a new one - I was close belive me. And while we're justifying this new phone, it was FREE. That's right apparently the Nokia 6230 I have contains a software glitch making it incompatible with the Cingular Network. I spoke with an honest rep a few months ago who said this was a known problem. I sent it into them, and they tried to send me a "comperable" Seimens phone. I didn't think it was very comperable on any level, so I sent it back explaining why. Then during my trip to Kiev, I sent my Nokia into the Nokia service center. I was truly hoping that it would fix the problem, I've invested in some extras for this phone and like the menu and functionality of it. But my new baby has finally arrived.....

Behold the Motorola RAZR V3 (in Black)!

Time Will Tell

2005-11-16T07:07:00.000-05:00

You ever have one of those conversations that just melt away all of the stress? It feels like someone is finally hearing what you are saying and listening? Yeah I had that last night with a good fried of mine. I found myself being listened to, and yet challenged by the tough questions he was asking back to me. That is what community looks like in my mind. We were actually sharing life, the depths of our souls, our fears and celebrations. All in all the two and a half hour conversation was one of the most refreshing I've had in a while. It's nice to know you can be authentically who you are and yet still be accepted - despite your shortcomings, your fears and your biased opinions.

I think God created us to connect with people in this way. I don't see life as a free-for-all to kind of skate by without interaction. I see people I know doing this all the time, always living by themselves, not reaching out and then saying they are lonely. But the way God set us up inside, it seems as though we must step out of the "American suburbanite" way of thinking and living. We need to move nearer to our communities, share in life so that we will know when someone needs to be picked up, and not have to be told. I believe this is the kind of bond that is meant for us as God's creation. If you look at 1 & 2 Samuel, you will see all over those books a man named Abishai. This man lived in such close community with King David, he repeatedly knew of the hardships of the King and the threats on his life and was willing to risk his own for his friend. (1 Samuel 26:6 - 26:9)

These are the types of people I want to surround myself with. People who live life together, who rally around one another and look for opportunities to serve and protect the very life God has given us. That's is sacrifice and commitment all wrapped into one. Now where do we start?...

Searching...

2005-11-15T07:23:00.000-05:00

I guess what I'm really looking for in life is for my heart to expand. I feel like it hasn't done that in a really long time. Recently however, I have felt alive - or at least seen a glimmer of being alive. I miss that side of me, I like that side of me, I was scared it was smothered for too long. But God restores the broken to fullness and heals those who are sick and realize they are sick and in need of Him.

Expand my heart God!

The Great Return

2005-11-14T13:28:00.000-05:00

I just made it back from an incredible time in the Ukraine. The trip was amazing in every facet, and we saw God working in us and through us despite cultural boundaries and language barriers. The encouragement that we received from our partners in the Ukraine as well as the many we reached out to may have very well exceeded our own encouragement to them. The pastors in Kiev labor so hard to reach people, and despite a spiritual interest, there is very little response in the form of changed lives. It almost appeared to me that people would prefer to stay in their known bondage, rather than exchange it for an unknown freedom. I can honestly say that I see very little difference in my heart sometimes.

An unusual thing for me happened on this trip - I had no control. I couldn't control the schedule, I couldn't make people on time, I couldn't speak or read the language. All I could do was be 100% me and hope that God would some how in some way use that as I learned to rely more and more on Him. For all of us on the trip I think we left with expectations, and ended up finding things out about ourselves we never could have guessed. I know I learned a lot about myself, who I am, where my heart is and how honest I have been about it all. Change is a frightening thing sometimes, but it is also often necessary. Now it is time to listen, to reflect and to hear from God - that He would draw near. I know He will if I stay still for a moment.

Life and Times

2005-10-03T17:11:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of driving 5 hours to central Indiana to be an usher in a friend's wedding. I lived Chad and a number of the other men standing up in his wedding for 3 years. And although those are 3 of my most fond years in recent memory, I found myself oddly out of place among my college buddies and the city of Anderson. Despite only having lived in Detroit for a year and a half now, I can sense that God has brought me to a place of comfortableness I have not known since I was in school.

This feeling of settling down into life and such has always plagued me. I love change, thrive on newness and hope for the unexpected simply because it is energizing to me. However, I am beginning to seek that God would not give me a geographic change as much as a perspective change on who He is in my life v. who I claim He is in my life. I want to be inspired and able to do something in response to God in my life and have the resources in place to do to because I am in a place where I know people, where I have allowed roots to grow down deep. And even though this may not be a permanent place or feeling - I am relishing the moment of simply BEING where I AM is at. That is a mind bender to me, but I remain because He has continued to remain in me even when and especially when I don't deserve it. And my heart because of all this - it is changing.

Talk is Cheap

2005-09-13T22:01:00.000-04:00

Had dinner w/ a friend of mine tonight named Josh. I don't think any of us really understood why we were meeting, but God knew. Turns out we are both kind of searching, looking for direction and trying to find the path we've either fallen off of or run from. A lot of our discussion continued around my constant inner-dialogue regarding wealth and living in America and how that fits with following Jesus. We talked about things like how we can talk all we want, but our lives never seem to change. And we think about James calling us to not have faith without any good works, and even though I have some good ones and there are possibly certain people who would be impressed w/ my level of sacrifice, but honestly, I think I could do better. I'm still self consumed, focussed, entranced and living minute by minute to please me.
Where is all my life heading? I've only got one, and there is a distinct possibility I'm going to waste it...

Live the life you have, or at least make it worth living...

Need I Say More?

2005-09-09T08:07:00.000-04:00

Shanes^2

2005-09-08T08:24:00.000-04:00

The Shanes are coming! The Shanes are coming! Yep that's right folks, a first for Shane and Shane is their upcoming release of their lived CD/DVD called "An Evening with Shane and Shane" releasing September 13. This is good news for old fans and new. Worshiping with the Shanes is an amazing opportunity and you will get to experience their sincere hearts and quirky humor (hopefully) for yourselves in the comfort of your own sanctuary - err, home that is. Check out their website for more info by clicking on the title of this post! I can't wait!

Vacation

2005-09-02T14:45:00.000-04:00

I took Friday off from the office to do some reading for work. It hasn't been as productive as I would have liked, but I'm covering some material that will be essential to my future success in this industry.

Jen and I have a long weekend planned at the cottage. It will be a nice break from the world and our responsibilities. Weather should be good and time spent with family will be just enough.

My heart goes out to the families in disarray down south right now. I cannot even imagine the chaos they are living in right now. Our government, despite its effectiveness, it doing all it can and I feel myself quite frustrated in my inability to truly be of assistance to people in need. That must be my savior complex in me. But as for me, I will praise God for these people even when they cannot bear to, because He is still God and still good, even when bad things happen.

Enjoy the randomness of this blog and the holiday ahead!

Did I say 4th Row?

2005-09-01T12:04:00.000-04:00

Well much to my dismay, my fourth row Jack Johnson tickets turned out to be general admission Pavillion tickets. When you arrive an hour before the show, you are not going to be anywhere close to the 4th row. It was a good show however, by Jack Johnson standards. He basically played every song I've ever heard by him, about 3 albums worth in 2 hours. It was also the antitheses of the previous night seeing the epitomy rockstars of the momen ColdPlay dancing around with their rockstar moves, playing rockstar guitar solos and running into the crowd to sing. In fact, Jack did really little moving except to change which guitar he was playing, grab a new pick or take a drink in between songs. And yet while I could have had the same experience with my iPod at home less the pot-smoking college students who parked themselves one row in front of my friend Drew and me, I found myself happy to be doing something other than nothing.

The night ended with us slipping out early through the VIP parking drive (which we did have tickets for) and then heading home around 11. I have realized one thing as I've been at work for a bit over 4 hours already today, and that is I am OLD. I cannot go to live shows 2 nights in a row and them come in and be the production horse our firm desires. Oh well, they (my firm) will get used to it I suppose.

- I work to live, I don't live to work

Back to Back

2005-08-31T17:05:00.000-04:00

Last night ColdPlay tonight Jack Johnson (4th row)! That is a great night, not exactly the type of things that turn me into a stellar worker, but all the same very entertaining. The great thing about going to shows is sometimes the music, and tonight it will undoubtedly be such. Last night however was all about the lights and video. ColdPlay in their never-ending strive to be the next U2 had the completed package, which may take away from some of the botched lyrics and missed starting chords that Chris Martin was at least man enough to own up to. All in all thought, a great show. Tonight, in true Jack Johnson form will be about the groove of his music. Lightshows and video are secondary to the jam as it is with most acoustic based jam-bands. I will report back tomorrow, hopefully w/ pictures.

Trip of Lifetime

2005-08-30T12:32:00.000-04:00

Well it's official, the vacation time has been approved, the churches and seminary have been contacted and on November 3rd myself and 13 other members of Genesis will arrive in Kiev, Ukraine for a 10 day missions trip custom built for people like me.

Let's face it, if I were to go on a missions trip to build houses, we would all be pretty scared for the people who had to live there after I left. This trip however, has a special mission and one close to my heart. The churches and seminary we partner with in Kiev have requested our church to send a group of musicians over to lead and teach on worship! I mean, it does not get much more custom built than that for me!

I am excited not just because we are going to get to play and lead worship in another country, but because they've asked us to come and specifically invited us to help shape the culture of worship in their churches and city. That is an amazing honor and calling to have placed on us, and not one I take lightly. By some amazing work of God, one of the staff guys from Genesis has asked me to head up the band and music preparation and act as the "lead worshiper" while overseas. That is also an honor. We have assembled some of the best musicians in our church, which has a deep pool of talented artists to pull from. The following are some details and a brief itinerary for the trip.

November 3rd - Arrive in Kiev
*we will be playing 3-5 "shows" including 2 at major universities in the city w/ great Ukrainian evangelist.
November 10 - leave Kiev for 22 hour "layover" in Amsterdam
November 12 - arrive in US

Please pray for the preparation of our band and team which includes people other than just the musicians. Each person plays an integral part in the trip and support raising has been given a small window. I will give you more updates and probably be talking more about this as the trip nears. I haven't been this excited for anything in a while!

United

2005-08-25T21:41:00.000-04:00

I feel like a hypocrite, and well frankly I am. For years, I claimed in my religious superiority that I "did not like Hillsongs." However, it seems times have changed and a new generation of hillsongers have arrived. For those of you about to walk because you don't know what Hillsongs are, they are a church in Australia known for their musical worship and original songs especially those written by Darlene Zech...

Anyway, there older stuff and most true hillsong music is not for me, it's not who I really am as a believer. The United Band is their youth/young adults' band, and they are hitting my heart in a whole new way. It almost makes me want to dance in my chair at work when I am listening to them. And when I drive home I crack the sunroof and sing to Jesus at the top of my lungs regardless of how long the back up is on M-59. So check it out and give the CD a buy. I searched high and low for an iTunes or electronic download, but they are apparently not moving in that direction too quickly. So pick up the new CD entitled Look to You. This is rock worship though so be warned, no acoustic ballads or piano love songs... Buy it, hear it, love it, thank me later. Head to the website by clicking on the word United above and look for the "Listen Now" link below the CD title.

WAR

2005-08-19T14:44:00.000-04:00

Check out what our friend Todd W. has experienced in Amsterdam recently. This gives true clarity to the mission I am on. Give New

Read and PRAY!

RELEVANT MAGAZINE

2005-08-16T14:45:00.000-04:00

RELEVANT MAGAZINE

Check out the latest from these folks who mesh culture, life and God together under one cover. Kind of a novel idea... or is it?

A Higher Calling?

2005-08-12T07:54:00.000-04:00

Our link (A Higher Calling) today will take you to Word made Flesh's Website - check out what they are doing around the world.

I have received many an email and very few actual comments on my previous blog entitled "Sell-Out." I suppose these people wanted to remain anonymous, but I can't figure out why. Most of my friends who made mention of the posting showed concern, wanted to "make sure I was alright." I found that pretty disheartening, like my words had meant nothing, or that the true meaning or spirit of the post was lost. What I really was referring to, is not just that I am a sell-out, but really what the cost of following Jesus is for me. Check out what Jesus says,
Mark 10:21 (New International Version)
21Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Now it is cool to note that Jesus looked at him and loved him, but it didn't change the fact that this guy was clinging to more than stuff - but the comfort of having enough, without fully having all of God. Now all of you who read this, can think what you want about yourselves, only you and God know the truth. However, for me, I know that simply living in America, I am blessed with more than enough to live. I live comfortably, more comfortably than I have to, and my money is primarily headed to my stomach, saving for my future, and supporting a church of middle class Americans. Not that my church isn't doing amazing things in the city we are in and reaching out to be the voice of hope to the marginalized people in Royal Oak. But, I am not changing, other than becoming more and more numb to the world around me that needs Jesus and does not have a relationship with him. And it is this "stuff" the things that occupy hours of my day and life, but really don't serve to advance the kingdom most effectively, that I look back on my life and I think, is my comfort really worth the salvation of others? Most times I shrug it off and hide behind my, "I'm trying hard enough to convince other people" argument, but let's face it, God is the final judge of those who are impacting the world around them for His glory and not our own.

That's the sell-out. I know that a life full of Christ and materially poor is better than my current personal relationship situ with Jesus. I have plenty here and now, but the treasures in heaven are not really being built that much. I only hope I can learn to trust more so that I will run far away from the the dreams of others, to live the ones God has for my life.

Blessings to all who hear.

Sell-Out

2005-08-01T16:12:00.000-04:00

When I think about my life, and I look at it through what I hope are God's eyes, before the mercy and grace I freely receive - I see a sell-out. I am a complete and total sell-out. Sure I am saved, and I try and live by faith, and I repent and I am learning to be more like Jesus - I hope. But in the midst of all of this "trying" I am sucking at really changing.

I constantly look back through journals and reflect on my life and where I have been, what I struggle with and where I am now and how I have grown, changed, matured (whatever word you use here fill it in). Even though I am a critical person, I'm also a realist and the truth is, I have sold-out on God's dream of reaching a generation to change the world and reach the world with the gospel. I've traded this real goal of the church for a salary and a nice car. Sure I lead worship at my church, and I am in prayer perhaps more often than the guy next door, but I am not expanding the kingdom on any front.

I lack courage, I am constantly making excuses and choosing the things in life that best serve me. And in the midst of it all, I am choosing the "American Dream," which while it isn't bad, isn't necessarily what God wants. I mean wouldn't he want me to at least base where I live at on how effective I can be with the people near me at reaching the lost or missing or frankly people who think "Christianity is a crock and so are most of the people involved."

I am trading adventure for stability and trust for a paycheck. I find every way in my everyday to weed out my need for God. I lack any desperation for God to change me whatsoever and am rarely moved to ask Him to regardless of what I want. My true heart though, when I look in the mirror of my office men's room as I just did 5 minutes ago, reflects a person who works the job he works, simply because he has to make money and not because he wants to be there or thinks anything he can do there will make the larges impact he could make on the world around him. I look in the mirror and I see me - a Sell-Out.

Thoughts and comments from all of you other sell-outs are anticipated and appreciated. Sorry I'm a cynic, but we can't all be like you. :)

This is Almost Scary

2005-07-29T12:25:00.000-04:00

On October 8, 2005, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will conduct the second Grand Challenge for autonomous robotic ground vehicles. Approximately 20 robots will navigate a course of more than 140 miles over rugged desert terrain in the southwest United States. The team whose vehicle completes the course the fastest—in less than 10 hours—will receive a check for $2 million.

Check out Dora which is Team Bonzai's entry into such an event. This is all apparently part of the DOD's hopes to have unmanned vehicles (1/3) of ground vehicles in combat by 2015. Am I over-reacting or is this the beginning of the Matrix in real life? Vehicles that can kill people designed by us to operate without us... I'm not sure how good of an idea this is, but seeing this thing in action is great. Check out the video of this thing maneuvering around obstacles with the help of only a few macs, some lasers to sense distance and a few other engineering marvels. No drive, no remote control - Beyond automatic. Fully autonomous.

I Suck

2005-07-24T21:49:00.000-04:00

At blogging

Gavin de-Who?

2005-07-20T07:04:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure who Gavin de Graw is, but apparently every girl between the ages of 14 - 16 knows who he is and one 30 something lady sitting next to me. Not only that, they know the words to each one of his trite songs. I was not impressed, even when he wandered the crowd in a seemingly impromptu moment after breaking a guitar string. It was lame. Jen and I left about 4 songs into his set and I couldn't help but be thankful that Howie Day had already played. I was however a bit distraught at the fact that he was not the headliner. If you don't know who Howie Day is, you need to check it out - do yourself the favor of hearing some quality music by a guy who's from our generation. Honestly, the guy just writes songs that I think are completely universal, and he is a great performer. So Now you know what I did on my Tuesday night, what did you do on yours?

Color Green

2005-07-12T00:19:00.000-04:00

Color Green Ministries is a ministry network that seeks to connect speakers, artists, and creative-types with other ministries and under-resourced churches throughout the country in an effort to spread the gospel of Jesus. Check out the latest updates, learn about the heart of the ministry and read up on current friends of the Color Green (FOTCG).

http://www.colorgreenministries.org

Welcome Back

2005-07-07T16:04:00.000-04:00

So the fourth of July has come and gone, nearly unnoticed except for my stellar tan from the weekend. I spent the majority of the weekend on a roll out mat on our dock sleeping beneath the blazing sun. And when I wasn't sleeping in the sun I was out in the water on a floating mat paddling my way around the cove soaking in rays. And when that got boring, which it kind of did by Sunday night, we went tubing and skiing. Which I finally managed to slalom! It only took about 5 trys which took about 40 minutes of being up and then falling, getting up again and then falling. It was a lot like the first time I rode a bike - perseverence was everything...

Anyway, it was a great weekend of relaxing with the family and of course Jen. The trip was topped off on Sunday night by 3 back to back to back games of adult sardines, wich my old crew, of which 2 are married now. It was fun watching significant others wander around in the dark through lots they had never seen in the day let alone maneuvered at night. Good times had by all and even better memories.

Off to a wedding tomorrow for my buddy Micah who is getting married in Grand Rapids. Should be a good time and is making for an extra short week.

Well more later I hope.

Make Poverty History

2005-06-29T08:01:00.000-04:00

The G8, or the ‘Group of Eight’ Summit is an annual gathering of leaders from the world’s eight wealthiest and most powerful countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States). This summer, these leaders will gather in Scotland to decide the fate of an entire generation living on less than ONE dollar a day. On July 6th - 8th, President Bush and other G8 leaders will discuss the major social, political and economic conditions that leave nearly ONE billion people living in extreme poverty – nearly half of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa. With your support and voice, President Bush and other world leaders will know just how important these issues are, and together as ONE, we can Make Poverty History this July.

It's not to late to help make a difference. Check out what you can do.

www.one.org

Crazy Times

2005-06-22T22:23:00.000-04:00

This morning on my way to work I randomly decided to check my email. Turns out it was a good thing, because I realized I didn't have my phone with me... Must have been the sound I heard hitting the wall when I rolled over. So I head back to the apartment, realizing that I will surely be late by this point.

As I'm checking my voicemail at work on the drive in I hear my boss. That's odd considering it's 7:30 am and he's already left a voicemail. Turns out that our due date for Monday got moved to Thursday (yes as in tomorrow) for a case we are working on. Not a fun time in my opinion. And in the midst of this, what we call, "fire-drill" I have another case deliverable due tomorrow as well. So what do I do? I pack it in early from work, head to a coffee shop after work to get some reading done on this case, lead the shortest worship rehearsal ever and then head back to the Starbucks to read more. Yea! I'm still not quite finished, but am well on my way to understanding the complexities associated with punitive damages.

This leads me to my next point. While talking with a friend on my way home from rehearsal to the Starbucks to read again, we came to the startling conclusion that following Jesus is not a get out of jail card from the realities of life, like the fact that money is required to buy things and survive and therefore I must have a job, or be independently wealthy, which I am not, so I work. And while I enjoy aspects of my job there are parts I dread and dislike to a high degree. This led Clair and I to our next startling conclusion. Work is just a job and it's benefit is that is makes you money which helps you afford theses things in life you must have, like food, water, iPods and plasma TV's, or something like that... What a startling reality of life to have staring me back in the face when I wake up tomorrow and look in the mirror.

I'd banter on, but I must sleep so the reading can sink in. Cheers to all of you and your independently wealthy bum's. Must be nice.

Currently Listening to:

Beautiful Mystery

2005-06-19T22:33:00.000-04:00

I posted a blog entry to the wrong blog - it accidentally ended up on my small group discussion's blog, which is ok, we'll see what they do with it. Here's the original post that was meant for all of you:
I'm consistently amazed by God using me. Tonight after an extremely long day of leading worship, I found myself in Jen's driveway with her in the passenger seat listening to Chris Tomlin sing "Joyous Light" from Passions: Hymns Ancient and Modern. As I sat there amazed by the worship and grace God had provided to me and the others there. I'm not even sure people experienced what I did. Sometimes it seems what moves one can go un-noticed by another. It's the mystery of the Holy Spirit. To me the day was filled with an overwhelming presence of God, felt and experienced in the message, the music, and even conversations with random people I spoke with after the service. In my heart, I knew I had been allowed to experience the incredible greatness of God. When I take the time to reflect on it, the Christian faith is an amazing testament to God who authors life in such a way that often in the moment, we overlook what is clearly obvious afterwards. Or perhaps this tendency to live in the moment allows us to experience God in as much of a tangible way as is humanly possible and then reflect on the awesome majesty we were allowed to inhabit following the experience is from God, a gift to live at one with God, experiencing life side by side, and yet reflect on the happenings the very second the moment ends. It is this celebrating Him, crying out to Him; the story of the Psalmist which gives the believer a "best of both worlds" life. Somehow I have been brought into a tradition which is more than men could make. It has been created, hand written for each of us to know the power and relentless tenderness of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am in awe of you Abba, thank you for gracing me with the mere presence of your glory and using me to allow others to experience you.

Currently Listening to:

Responsibility

2005-06-15T12:46:00.000-04:00

Check out how Smart designers in London are becoming. I wonder when the likes of GM, Ford and Chrysler will catch on to the idea that what's good for our world, can also be good for them. The car is called the G-Wiz and in London, (which some experts say has the pollution equivalent to smoking 30 cigarettes per day) this is a miracle. There are taxes associated w/ driving a car, (which only people on the West Coast are familiar with here) emission taxes (congestion charge in UK). You also get 600 mpg, no road tax, and free parking in London (if you can find any).

Turns out technological innovation can really benefit the world too. Amazing. Check it out: Going Green. Sadly despite my zealousness of preventing any further global warming I still drive a large car and accelerate as fast as the law will allow me to. Selfish I know, I'm working on it.

NEWS FLASH

Also, in a corporate mishap, today I accidentally misread an email and wished one of my co-workers "Happy Birthday" one month before the date. Here was his reply to my original email:

ThanksÂand remind me to thank you again on July 15, my birthday.

Anthony J. Colucci
Staff Consultant

That's me, that's my life.

Cultural Creative

2005-06-13T12:43:00.000-04:00

Here are the results of a test I took online. I saw it on a friend's blog and decided to check it out. I scored a high cultural creative, which I think means I believe, but not in the traditional ways. For more on this check out the Christian Counterculture movement - I'm not endorsing this, just saying it's interesting, if you have time take a peek.

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational.

What is Your World View? (updated)
created with QuizFarm.com

Cultural Creative

81%

Romanticist

81%

Fundamentalist

63%

Idealist

56%

Postmodernist

44%

Materialist

38%

Modernist

25%

Existentialist

13%

What is Your World View? (updated)
created with QuizFarm.com

2005-06-10T00:42:00.000-04:00

Will & Jonas - Queens Day 04

This is a pic of my buddy Jonas and I sporting our Dutch, orange armbands in honor of Amsterdam's favorite holiday...Ahh good times - Mazel my friends.

Birthday!

2005-06-09T12:34:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I was a bit down about becoming an official 27 year old. I'm moving on with my favorite part of life so far, my 20s. Not that everything leading up to that wasn't good, but my life has been changed by the goodness of God since I turned 20. For some reason I got really serious about a relationship with God rather than a ritual (church) that involved Him. Anyway, the birthday was a great chance for me to look back at the life God has given me, a life most would envy. I've had opportunity and blessings in this life beyond my own dreams, and I think that is a benefit of surrender to God, because now I am given the opportunity to live the dreams of a He who created everything and I have to believe that His imagination is greater than mine.

So for my birthday, I got what every God-fearing male in his 20's desires - Coldplay Tickets (pavilion, not lawn) for August 30th. Yeah I do have the best girlfriend in the world and last night completely confirmed my suspicions of such truth. On top of that I also got to share in a wonderful, romantic dinner with just Jen as well as some other nice gifts from my parents. Oh and of course I also received the new Coldplay CD - (X&Y, hence the picture) if you haven't you will want this CD, it's great, not quite the "Joshua Tree" that critics said they needed, but still a good album. I have listened to it non-stop for the first 4 hours of work this morning.

Anyway, birthday doldrums are now behind me and today is a new day. Until next time kids...

Birthday

2005-06-08T17:07:00.000-04:00

It's my 27th Birthday, I feel old. Not like 30 old - like some of my friends, but still old. I'll tell you how I feel tomorrow. That's when I'll be 27 years and one day old, it will have fully set in by then.

2005-05-25T23:52:00.000-04:00

Jen - Will -Sam - Gus Oconnors, Rochester, MI 5.7.05

Recentyl, Jen and I had the privilege of sharing a couple of weekends with one of my closest friends from overseas - Sam Whittington. Sam made the trip across the pond on an all expense paid trip to a conference to Mosaic Church in LA. The organizers of the trip set it up so his weekends would be spent in Michigan. Above is a grea shot of us eating out at a local pub one the last full day he was in town.

On the trip with Sam was also Bram pheonetically said "Bruam." He was a pleasure to meet, get to know and was a fan of Comerica Park - Go Tigers? Anyway, Bram is Dutch and studying theology in Amsterdam, which is not something you hear of everyday. I got a chance to get to know him better one afternoon and continue to pray that God would raise him up to lead within the Zolder50 community.

ONE

2005-05-23T17:24:00.000-04:00

My heart is always pulled on by the needy, the fringe of society, no matter where they are. Check this out and see what a little change can help do around the world. Help make poverty history. Buy the bracelets, make a donation and tell your friends and family, and the guy who bags your groceries and the person you sit next to on the train and your co-workers and your boss who makes 2x as much as you do. Change the world? - no; be part of the change in the world? - Yes

Vacation

2005-05-20T10:58:00.000-04:00

* A 1960 Lark crossing over to the Island on the old ferry.

Ok, so I need a vacation badly... I can't even begin to tell all of you how much. And over Memorial Day I will get a break. I am taking Friday off of work to head up to the cottage to work and couldn't be more excited! I honestly never thought the day would come where I would be more excited to work with my dad on our cottage than to "crunch numbers," but I am. And just to you all can see my little piece of heaven... where I'll be over that weekend.

If you want to see where we are check out the link on the title vacation above then to see the cottage in sattelite imagery click the satellite link in the upper right hand corner next to MAP. Our cottage is almost directly south of Point A shown on the map on the island in the center of the lake. Just to the east of the North center of the island is a point and at this spot is the very place I will be dangling my feet in the water playing guitar and thanking God for all of the wonderful things He's blessed me with over my life.
* these things will only be occuring in the midst of breaks and after long days of slaving away laying tile and mudding drywall with my father of of course - so as not to make you all jealous

Enjoy and wish me luck at getting motivated while on a mini-break from the real world!

Funy Stuff

2005-05-11T12:01:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I love to laugh, and sometimes I have days where it's a bit uncontrollable and maybe even to the point where I'm laughing at things that aren't that funny. And well if you know me you know that sarcasm and satire are my typed of humor so while catching up my "the Onion" (which is a website that does satire on news and headlines) desk calendar I stumbled across this day.

"Kmart's Woes"
- Kmart, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, recently announced the closing of 283 stores. What is the retail giant doing to improve its situation?

Combining everyday low prices and friendly service in previously unthought-of ways.
Aggressivley touting Kmart as "The Place for Shotguns, Soda And Sweatpants"
Finally allowing smart-ass teens to ride coin-operated horsey outside entrance.
Instituting two-icee minimum.
Diversifying product line to include things people would want in their homes.
Replacing "K" in Kmart sign with more appealing "Wal".
Burning down entire chaing of insurance money.

Just a little humor I found on behalf of a store I grew up being dragged to by my parents and grandparents alike. Funny stuff.

Losing

2005-05-10T10:11:00.000-04:00

I find myself constantly without the very thought I had only a moment ago. And this is a prime example of my affliction in action. As I was waiting for the web page to load (less than 3 seconds) I misplaced the very inspiration of blogging which led me here. So I will ramble only about my still small life.

In a milestone of Will's world, I celebrated (with Jen) our 2 year anniversary of dating. It's quite an accomplishment in my own opinion and if you know me and my history you will probably agree. Even so in this two years of dating one person, I often find myself looking around, unable to grasp where I am and where I am heading. I am often stunned that I've shared 2 years (albeit through mass geographic separation for some time) of my life with someone and am still this happy and excited about a future with her. And for me it is inspiring to see that as our lives become more innertwined, we are unafraid of the closeness that has often frightened me in the past. This life I am now living is probably less volatile than any 2 year period in my past. And so we celebrate.

In an effort to be Americans celebrating a milestone like last night we found it appropriate to head to a nice restaurant, and have seafood. The food was wonderful and the company spent remembering the past and discussing the future, but what was displeasing was the service. For such a nice restaurant, we often found ourselves straining to see if we could find our server, and while we could see the other tables' servers moving to and fro, we rarely caught a glimpse of ours. And had it not been for such stimulating conversation, the 3 hour long meal may have dragged on and on, but instead we enjoyed the time alone and the memories we've made and those to come. A celebration - even for someone who may not remember it after he's done writing about it.

Sincerest Apologies

2005-05-06T11:47:00.000-04:00

So I really have a good excuse for not having blogged for nearly 2 weeks. I have been sick. And what initially started out as either food poisoning or the flu - erupted into a massive chest cold and the ingestion of way too many zinc pills and swigs of "Tussin" cough/cold syrup. That kind of makes me living proof that "using your medical insurance when you have it" - priceless. Not really super fun, and not even a really great topic for discussion. But I figured I owed my faithful blog readers some sort of explanation.

I hope to have some good posts from this upcoming weekend as my friend (who I met through Jen) Sam is coming in the town for a 3 day layover on his way to LA. What a glorious day to hang out with my favorite Britt (in other words he's from England originally) and another Zolder 50 leader named Bram. We shall show these two Europeans the meaning of the word ghetto and also the finer things in life, like American hamburgers - perhaps blimpy's and Bell's Beer. Yep, it will be a weekend of indulging in great conversation about deeper things while feasting on what the conservative among Christian hastily call "Satan's Syrup" - referring to the alcohol. The life of a hypocrite in the eyes of many. I guess I'm lucky that God only sees the heart.

Cheers mates!

Heaven

2005-04-28T12:47:00.000-04:00

Let's face it, anyone who knows me, knows my... well I call it passion, Jen calls it obsession, with cell phones. I always know what the latest and greatest is and am constantly obsessing over whether I have the coolest one out of all the people I know. Since I'm a sucker and will pay just about anything for a phone, I usually do. Cheers to the likes of A.J. and others who follow my lead and shell out cold hard cash for advanced functionality.

Oh yeah so the photo above is the new Nokia N91 released I think yesterday. It sports a 4 GB hard drive in it and is compatible with WMA, MP3, MP4, and AAC, but no iTunes compatibility. If you go to the article (click on Heaven above) you can see this beauty slide open to reveal the phone's keypad. Here are the specs, in case any of you are above and beyond normal inklings of curiosity regarding the feared "iPod mini killer."

Looks like I know what I'll be asking for this Christmas...

What the *&#%!

2005-04-25T13:08:00.000-04:00

My Weather forecast (as seen in Detroit news)


Partly Cloudy 53/43

Rain 56/42


Rain 53/39


Rain 55/40


Rain 57/44

I mean seriously, last Wednesday, it was 80 degrees, I thought we were going to skip spring altogether and head right into summer. I must be naive, or maybe the year in AZ just tricked my body into believing the lie that once it's warm it will stay warm forever. So I guess this miserable snowy weekend was a wake-up call back to MI. Anyway, I've caught a cold from the whole ordeal, and so I won't continue to ramble and make everyone else miserable too. I hope the sun is shining wherever you are reading this!

Slacker

2005-04-20T12:09:00.000-04:00

-Pope Benedict XVI - a spry 78

papacy

Ok, so I am officially a poor blogger, I rarely do it and when they do, the posts are mostly lame. But hey, I'm working hard at.. Well, I'm working hard and that should count for something. My friend used to say, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." I guess that couldn't be more true somedays.

Above, I've posted a small bio pic of the new Pope. In my world this means nothing, but to people who are Catholic, this guy is basically right behind Jesus in the line of holiness... And looks to be in pretty good health considering he's 78. In my opinion receiving the election of the papacy is like a death sentence, given that you can't retire, you just die out of office. And the historical life span of popes in the last century (the former one excluded) is pretty dismal after being elected to office.

For any of you dying to know more, here's what answers.com has to say about the office of the Pope: http://www.answers.com/pope

Ok, that's all from here, go outside and play in the rain.

Happy Birthday Genius!

2005-04-15T09:20:00.000-04:00

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15th 1452, hence the reason we pay our taxes on this day - What? Just kidding, but the guy was a genius apparently and is also the person responsible for painting that hottie Mona Lisa - Yowsa! Anyway life in the "BIG CITY" as my family calls is it moving along. I work at a tax firm so it is significant for my firm that today is the 15th. All of the accountants are excited to be leaving early today for the first time in months. However, people like myself who work in the litigation world, will be putting in a full day just like the rest of you.

Weekend is coming - more posts along with that since I'll have some spare time. I would have had a couple more up over the week, but I was sick for a day and it kind of knocked the wind out of my sails. Sorry for the delay. Cheers everyone!

New Tunes

2005-04-10T13:13:00.000-04:00

So I often pride myself on my musical taste, which to me is faultless. In my mind's eye, I am the ultimate objective judge to good and bad music, however, if any of you know me and have scrolled through my iPod, you know that I like acoustic rock at its finest and am pretty much the most one-dimensional music lover you will find. That being said as a confession of my soul, I have re-discovered an old friend who made music I loved while I was at school in Anderson, IN. His name is Michael Cook, and he has been on the road w/ Jaci Valasquez for the past year and recently released an album. I think I could compare his music to the likes of John Mayer, Bebo Norman, and maybe even pop star Jason Mraz, that being the case in the sound, I will go on to note that his lyrics add much more depth than any of those singer/song writers, as he is brutally honest with his faith and struggle, yet up lifting in the hope that he see God bringing to his life. Anyway, that's my review, I previewed pretty much every song on the album and like them all, hopefully I can get my hands on an autographed edition for my CD collection through a contact - mainly Michael. If you have a spare 5 minutes, and are looking for some new music, check out his web site and give him a listen, I doubt you will be disappointed. Later kids, go enjoy the weather! (In case some of you are new to blogging and my own style, words are often links when they are a different color). Happy surfing!

2005-04-09T13:23:00.000-04:00

Tulips taken by Bret Poppleton; GCM Missionary, New Father, and Wonderful Friend serving in Amsterdam.

Here we go again...

2005-04-09T12:47:00.000-04:00

I've been blogging for a little over a year now. It started as an expression of who I am as a person shouting on the inside, but often times quiet on the outside. What began as simple expression, has become one of my favorite past times to keep friends and family up to date on an otherwise drab life here. I say

here we go again

for the title because I've been blogging at xanga.com for he past year and while it's been good, I'm cheap and never wanted to pay the $3 or $4 dollars to have pictures on my site. So a friend of mine pointed me the direction of blogger.com and I haven't looked back since. So welcome to my blog and for those of you who have existentially been journeying through life with me via my blog, welcome back. I hope this new ride is enjoyable and a chance for all of us to share thoughts on my perspective on life.

Seriously, your thoughts are very welcome here, especially if they differ from my own. I never want to stop growing in life and I think that means I have to constantly be open to challenging my own perspectives on life. Who knows, we may all just learn something about our lives and ourselves along the way.